Seaside, Oregon

One of the 100

Great Towns of America

Discover Seaside, Oregon

Seaside is the premier coastal playground of the Pacific Northwest. For more than a century, vacationers have been attracted to the broad sandy beach that links the ocean with a massive forested headland at one of the most dramatic sites on the coast. Summer is the year’s only busy season when long warm days and relatively little rain attract capacity crowds. From fall through spring, almost continuous rainfall curtails the area’s usability for outdoor recreation, but storm-watching reigns.

Seaside began, in 1806, as the western end of the Lewis and Clark Trail. But settlers weren’t attracted to the handsome location until the 1870s when the promenade, amusement facilities and elaborate accommodations began to establish Seaside as the first major coastal resort in the Northwest.

Today, Seaside remains the most appealing fun-oriented destination along the Oregon coast. A well-landscaped pedestrian-and-auto thoroughfare extends from a monumental Lewis and Clark statue at a beachfront turnaround through the heart of town. It is lined with appealing specialty shops, restaurants, atmospheric bars, and an upgraded old-fashioned amusement zone that appeals to all ages (including adults). Ubiquitous rental outfitters offer more ways to peddle, paddle, or putt-putt around town than anywhere else on abundant paths, promenades, sidewalks, byways and waterways. A stylish landmark hotel anchors a two-mile-long pedestrian promenade at the turnaround by the beach. Many other plain-to-plush modern lodgings along the shoreline also serve summer crowds.